Listening UNIT 3 Questions 1-6 Circle the appropriate letter. Example What was Jill's job in Hong Kong? 1 Which picture shows Gerry? 2 Where were Gerry and Sue married? 3 Which picture shows Sue's sister's children? 4 What time should Jill arrive for dinner? 5 What type of accommodation docs Sue live in? 6 Which bell must you press? For further practice, do the Supplementary activity on page 109. Listening UNIT4 Identifying main ideas What are the speakers talking about? What are the main ideas and how are they developed? When we take part in a conversation or listen to other people, we subconsciously separate the information that we need or that interests us from the rest of what we hear. In other words, we separate the main ideas from the supporting detail. Sometimes people use an introductory phrase to attract our attention and to give some clue to the topic. EXTRACT 1 Look at the chart below. You will see that the situation and speakers have already been identified. Try to guess what the speakers might say from this information. This is not always possible. Why? Listen to Unit 4, Extract 1 and make a note of the words used by the first speaker to attract attention. Write this in the Introductory phrase column. Listen to the extract a second time and fill in the rest of the grid, briefly noting the topic and showing how the speakers develop this topic. The first one has been done for you as an example. Listening UNIT 4 Follow-up Work with a partner. Select one of the pictures from the group of pictures below. Decide on a topic for the characters in the picture you have chosen. Write a short dialogue (4-5 lines) to accompany the picture. Try to write an appropriate introductory phrase or greeting for the first speaker. Act out the dialogue to two other classmates. Could they guess which picture it matches? EXTRACT 2 In Section 2 of the IELTS Listening test you will hear one person giving a talk on a topic of general interest. As well as listening for specific information, you may be asked to interpret the speaker's ideas. You will therefore need to follow the talk carefully and be prepared to separate the main ideas from the supporting detail. How to approach the task - Look at the questions below and try to work out from the vocabulary used what the topic is. - Now read the questions carefully to find out what sort of information you need to listen out for, - Underline in pencil the important words in the multiple-choice questions before you listen. This will help to focus your listening, - Answer the questions as you listen. Questions 1-5 Circle the correct answer. 1 The weekly radio programme is on A topics suggested by listeners. B local news items. C listeners' hobbies. Listening UNIT 4 2 The process of stamp production is A difficult. B expensive. C time consuming. 3 In the search for suitable subjects, people are invited to A research a number of topics. B give an opinion on possible topics. C produce a list of topics. 4 Topics are sent for final approval to A a group of graphic artists. B the Board of Directors. C a designers' committee. 5 Australian artists receive money A only if the stamp goes into circulation. B for the design only. C for the design and again if it is used. Questions 6-8 Complete the notes using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. Questions 9-10 Circle the correct answer. 9 The speaker says that many people produce designs for stamps. few people are interested in stamp design, people will never agree about stamp design. 10 The speaker suggests that stamps play an important role in our lives. too much attention is devoted to stamp production. stamps should reflect a nation's character. For further practice, do the Supplementary activity on page 110. Listening UNIT 5 Seeing beyond the surface meaning What does the speaker mean exactly? How can we interpret intonation? People do not always say exactly what they mean. As listeners we must learn to interpret the words people use as well as their intonation patterns. In this unit, we will investigate some ways of seeing beyond the surface meaning of spoken language while following a conversation. Pre-listening • Look at the following sentence: / thought the assignment was due in on Thursday. • Try saying it in three different ways, to produce three different meanings. What are the three meanings? Discuss these with your partner. • Try creating a similar short statement. See if you can vary the meaning by changing the word stress. • Read your statements to your partner. Can you hear the differences in meaning? EXTRACT 1 Look at the chart below and note the headings of the different columns. Listen to Unit 5, Extract 1, which consists of an example and eight short, independent dialogues. As you listen, answer the focus question Yes or No. Discuss what indicators or language features helped you to interpret the real meaning of the speakers. Listening UNIT 5 Pre-listening Look at the three posters advertising a student debate, Discuss what each of the posters means. Ask your teacher to explain their possible meaning if this is not clear. In these three cases, there are two possible sides to each argument. Make a list of things which could be said on either side of the argument for each poster. This will help you to understand Extract 2. Report back to the class. EXTRACT 2 In Section 3 of the IELTS Listening test you will have to follow a conversation with more than two speakers. In this extract you will hear a conversation between three friends who live in a student house together, Richard, Sue and Frank. They are having a conversation about how the government should spend public money. There are two tasks to accompany this listening extract. Task l • Listen to the conversation. As you listen, complete the grid below by placing a / in the box next to the name of the speakers each time they speak. Which of them speaks most often? Listening UNIT 5 Task 2 Now look at the questions below. Read them through carefully and underline any words that you think will help to focus your listening. Listen to the extract a second time and circle the correct answer for each question. The person at the door is looking for work, asking for money. looking for the hospital. visiting her friends. Frank thinks the hospital should be financed by local residents. a special health tax. the state. private companies. Richard thinks Sue's view on hospital funding is acceptable. predictable. uninteresting. unreasonable. Sue's attitude towards the government's spending is disapproving. indifferent. understanding. impartial. Frank thinks that space research is only for scientists, is moving too slowly. has practical benefits. has improved recently. In talking about space travel, Frank displays his pessimism. reveals an ambition. makes a prediction. refers to a book. Sue thinks work is important because it reduces the levels of crime. gives individuals pride in themselves. helps people find homes. reduces the need for charity. Richard's overall attitude is helpful. bitter. disinterested. sarcastic. For further practice based on this extract, do the Supplementary activity on page 110. Listening Following signpost words What are 'signpost words'? How do they help us to understand? Good public speakers and lecturers illustrate the stages of their talk through the use of 'signpost words'. Being able to identify and follow the signpost words will help you to understand formal spoken English. Pre-listening As with writing, speakers make use of special words to help introduce ideas and to provide a framework for what they are saying, especially in formal speech, such as a lecture or a talk. We can think of these words as 'signpost words' because they direct our listening; in other words, they warn us that more information is coming and suggest what kind of information this may be: e.g. additional, positive, negative, similar, different. They may also introduce examples of a main point made earlier. Look at the sample of unfinished 'spoken' text below. It starts with the signpost word while, which suggests that there is a contrast or opposite to follow. ( While a great deal has been achieved in the area of cancer research, there . ) This sentence could be completed with the words: . /5 still a lot we do not understand about cancer. Here are some possible 'directions' that the signpost words can take you in. a Leading towards a comparison b Leading towards a contrast or opposite с Introducing an example of what was said earlier d Suggesting cause and effect or result e Providing additional information f Setting out the stages of a talk First, read the sentences 1-10 on the next page and identify the signpost words and the direction (a-f above) that the words are taking you in. Then go on to the pair activity that follows. Listening UNIT 6 1 Incoming governments often make promises which they cannot keep. For instance . 2 Every Roman town had at its centre a forum, where people came together to conduct their official and religious affairs. In addition, the forum . 3 The meteorological office predicted rain for the two weeks of the Olympic Games, In consequence, . 4 Learning a foreign language can be difficult and at times frustrating. However, . 5 Not only did the Second World War result in the displacement of millions of innocent civilians, it . 6 Despite the efforts of the government to reduce the incidence of smoking among teenagers and young adults, I regret to say that smoking . 7 This is how to approach writing an essay. First, you should read the question carefully. Then . 8 No matter how hard you try to justify the sport of fox hunting, the fact remains that . 9 Firstly I would like to talk about the early life of }. F. Kennedy. Secondly . and thirdly . 10 On the one hand, it may be advisable to study hard the night before an exam; on the other hand, . Try to complete the unfinished statements above by creating an ending which makes sense in each case, using the signpost words in the text to guide you. Read the finished texts out loud to your partner so that you can practise the intonation patterns which go with the signpost words. Make sure your voice rises and falls in the right places to reflect your intended meaning. EXTRACT 1 You can check the intonation patterns by listening to Unit 6, Extract 1, which gives some possible ways of completing the sentences. Listening UNIT 6 EXTRACT 2 IELTS Listening Section 3 Note completion and labelling a diagram IELTS Section 3 Listening takes the form of a conversation between two or more people discussing an academic topic. Unlike the dialogues in Section 1, where the speakers are discussing everyday topics, Section 3 will require more careful attention to the conversation or argument being expressed. In the following example, you will hear an extract from a university tutorial with four speakers taking part. First look at the questions below and make sure you understand exactly what you have to label on the diagram. Questions 1-3 Complete the notes. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. ROVER ROBOT The robot does the work of a (1) . „ It looks like a (2) on wheels. It weighs 16.5kg and travels quite (3). . „ Questions 4-7 Label the diagram of the rover robot. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. л (4) „ (6) (7) . wheels Questions 8-10 Complete the notes. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. The cover cannot be steered in real time because of the (8) Scientists decide on a (9) for the rover. Mars is similar to Earth because it may have For further practice, do the Supplementary activity on page 110. [...]... saying the following telephone numbers Notice how your voice goes up after each group and then drops as you come to the end of the whole number 5849 3714 *6 12 9983 4 721 *0 122 3 46 027 8 *33 76 49 52 98 *04 12 6136 12 Speakers normally use an upward intonation if they have more to add and let their voice drop when they come to the end of that piece of information EXTRACT 1 Look at the five extracts below,...Listening UNIT 7 Being aware of stress, rhythm and intonation How do intonation and word stress help us to understand? Public speakers and lecturers make use of stress, rhythm and intonation patterns, along with signpost words, to divide their information into 'chunks' of meaning Learning to recognise these speech patterns will help you to understand formal... different lectures and mark in pencil the words which you think should be stressed and where your voice should rise and fall Read the extracts out loud to your partner, as if you were giving a talk or a lecture, paying particular attention to the intonation patterns needed to keep the listener interested and to ensure that the meaning is clear After you have both read each extract, listen to the recording... you read You will need to have the skills required to focus in on the information that is important to you and to skim through the information that isn't READING FDR IELTS The IELTS examination tests your ability to read between 1500 and 25 00 words in a fairly short period of time in order to find out certain information In both the Academic and the General Training modules, you are given 60 minutes... and direction of the talk Notice how the notes form part of a flow chart to reflect the format or organisation of the talk Questions 1-10 Complete the notes below Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer Example The Study of Child Language Acquisition For further practice, do the Supplementary activity on page 110 Listening UNIT 7 EXTRACT 3 IELTS Listening Section 4 Table/flow chart completion... each with its own aims and procedures Moreover, each of the main families of writing systems (European, Semitic, East Asian) has its own complex history of handwriting styles Listening UNIT 7 EXTRACT 2 IELTS Listening Section 4 Following a flow chart Section 4 of the Listening test is always a lecture or a talk of some kind In this example, you will hear the introduction to a lecture on child language... as argumentative, descriptive, narrative, discursive, etc General Training Reading Module The test has three sections Section 1 contains two or more texts which are based on social situations Section 2 contains two texts based on course-related situations and Section 3 contains one text that tests general reading comprehension The question types are similar to those in the Academic module The texts... in the third section may contain some argument If you are studying for the General Training modules you should begin with Reading Units 8 and 9 Reading UNIT 1 Orientating yourself to the text In the IELTS test you are given texts to read which someone else has chosen for you So it is important to skim through each text asking yourself the sort of questions that will help you understand it quickly... questions that help you to orientate yourself to the text T I T L E S AND SUB-HEADINGS Nearly all articles that you read in magazines and newspapers will have a title (unless it has been removed for a particular reason) Many will also have a sub-heading Read this title and sub-heading which introduce a magazine article: The Dynamic Continent The constantly changing landscape of Antarctica is a challenge . of the whole number. 5849 3714 *6 12 9983 4 721 *0 122 3 46 027 8 *33 76 49 52 98 *04 12 6136 12 Speakers normally use an upward intonation if they have more to. poster. This will help you to understand Extract 2. Report back to the class. EXTRACT 2 In Section 3 of the IELTS Listening test you will have to follow a